Glossary

A - F

Accelerated Critical Illness

Accelerated Critical Illness is when you get an immediate lumpsum payout from your life cover to help you with any upfront medical and daily expenses, this will happen if you’re diagnosed with one of the qualifying critical illnesses.  

 

Accidental Death Benefit / Accidental Loss of Life

Accidental Death Benefit / Accidental Loss of Life Benefit is the amount that we pay if the policyholder passes away due to an accident. It is usually an additional payment to the standard amount that would be received if the policyholder had passed away due to natural causes.

 

Accident & Health (A&H) Cover

A&H cover will pay you if you get sick, have an accidental injury or accidental death. It may also contribute to loss of income or pay off a loan taken out because of the accident.

 

Accelerated Payout

Accelerated Payout gives you an advanced cash lump sum if you're diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness. The amount paid will be deducted from your total life insurance payout.

This benefit is an optional rider on MetLife life insurance solutions.

 

Account Value

Account Value is the sum of the total amounts in Investment Account(s) credited to the Policy less Monthly Deductions and any other applicable charges.

 

Accumulation account

Accumulation Account Is the Account Value accumulated from the Premiums paid after the first eighteen (18) Policy months.

 

Activities of Daily Living (ADL)

 (a) Mobility: the ability to move from one (1) room to an adjoining room or from one (1) side of a room to another or to get in and out of bed or chair without requiring the physical assistance of another person

(b) Continence: the ability to voluntarily control bladder and bowel functions to be able to maintain personal hygiene

(c) Dressing: putting on and taking off all necessary items of clothing without requiring the assistance of another person

(d) Toileting: getting to and from the toilet, transferring on and off the toilet and associated personal hygiene

(e) Eating: all tasks of getting food into the body once it has been prepared.

 

Assignment

Assignment is the transfer of legal rights under, or interest in, an insurance policy to another party.

 

Beneficiary

Beneficiary is the person who receives the benefits of a life insurance plan.

 

Cash Surrender Value

Cash surrender value refers to the value of your solution when the policy is surrendered, claimed or comes to an end. We calculate this value by taking invested funds, the date of surrender and any outstanding fees into account.

 

Critical Care / Critical Illness

Critical Care / Critical Illness benefits provide a lump sum payout to help you with any medical and daily expenses, should you be diagnosed with one of the qualifying critical illnesses. This solution can be purchased on its own or in conjunction with another plan.

 

Capital Account

Capital Account Is the Account Value accumulated from the Premiums paid during the first eighteen (18) Policy months.

 

Cash Claim

Cash Claim is when you visit an out-of-network provider and we refund you after your treatment.

You can do the cash claim on the myMetLife app, and you will receive your payout within just 10 days.

Claim

A claim refers to the process of requesting a payment or reimbursement from MetLife based on medical conditions or events which included In your policy coverage.

 

Contribution period

Contribution period Is the term within which premiums need to be paid to the policy.

 

Co-payment

Co-payment or Co-pay is a fixed amount that you will pay each time you use a medical service. We will then pay the rest of the balance.

 

Cost of Insurance

Cost of Insurance is a monthly fee that you pay so that we can take care of the administration on your plan.

 

Coverage Commencement Date

Coverage Commencement Date is the actual date and time that your policy begins.

 

Date of Issue

Date of Issue is the date on which we issue your policy.

 

Death due to natural causes

Death due to natural causes is when a person passes away due to natural causes; such as old age, a medical condition or a disease.

 

Exclusions

Exclusions refer to the conditions or circumstances that are not covered by your insurance plan. No insurance payout or benefit will be available in these circumstances.

 

Effective Date

Effective Date is the exact date and time that your insurance policy becomes active.

 

Excess Premium

Excess Premium is any premium or deposit paid into the Policy during any Policy Year which is over and above the sum of the required basic premium and any premiums for Supplementary Contracts in any given Policy Year.

 

Face Amount

Face amount refers to the basic insurance amount covered by your policy (the Policy Specification Schedule or policy certificate) and refers to the amount we will pay when your insurance policy ends.

 

Forever Benefit

Forever benefit guarantees you a lifetime of monthly income if you experience a permanent or partial disability, resulting from accident or sickness, that means you can no longer work. This solution can be purchased on its own or in conjunction with another plan.

 

Free Look Period

Free look period is a specified period of time in which you can decide to terminate your new policy without any penalties or charges for doing so.

 

Fund Management Charge

Fund Management Charge is the estimated annual cost of a fund levied by the fund managers for managing your investments. These charges, which are fund specific, will be deducted from the fund assets by the investment account managers.

 

G - L

Grace period (for life insurance) 
Grace period (for life insurance) refers to the 90 days that you are given to pay a premium in order to keep your policy active, if the cash surrender value is insufficient to cover all monthly deductions. If your loved ones make a life claim during this grace period, then the outstanding premium will be deducted in settlement of this policy. After expiry of the grace period, your policy will be cancelled.

Grace period (for investment solutions) 

Grace period (for investment solutions) refers to the 90 days that you are given to cover the value of the net cash surrender, if it’s not enough to cover the monthly deduction. If your loved ones make a life claim during this grace period, then the outstanding premium will be deducted in settlement of this policy. After expiry of the grace period, your policy will be cancelled.

 

Health Cover Abroad

Health Cover Abroad offers you access to the best of medical treatment from around the world, should you ever be diagnosed with a critical illness from a specified list of illnesses. This is a benefit that you can add onto your plan or purchase on its own.

 

In-Hospital Income (Accident & Sickness)

In-hospital income is a guaranteed cash payment that covers you should you be hospitalized due to sickness or a result of an accident.

 

Involuntary Loss of Employment

Involuntary Loss of Employment offers you the peace of mind that if you lose your job, due to dismissal or redundancy, the plan will cover your monthly premium for up to a year to keep your insurance active.

 

ICP Period/IPP Period

it Is the period where your contributions are Invested In a conservative fund.

 

Incontestable period

contestable period is a short window in which we can investigate and deny any claim. It begins as soon as a policy goes into effect.

 

Incontestability/ Contestability

Incontestability clause is a clause in most life insurance policies that prevent the provider from voiding coverage due to a misstatement by the insured, and in the absence of any willful misrepresentation or fraud after a specific amount of time has passed.

 

In-patient

In-patient is a patient who stays in hospital while undergoing treatment.

 

Insurance

Insurance is a contract between us and you, where you receive financial protection or reimbursement from us against loss, damage, illness or death.

 

Insured

Insured refers to the person or organization (you or your business) covered by your MetLife insurance plan.

 

Juvenile Insurance

Juvenile insurance is a life insurance plan that is purchased by an adult to cover the life of a child.

 

Loss of Life Benefit

Loss of Life benefit is a cash payment that the beneficiaries of a plan will receive in the event that the policyholder were to pass away.

 

Legal Heir

Legal Heir is the person who receives the payout upon the death of the policyholder.

For example, if you have a MetLife life insurance policy, the legal heir would be your family that will receive benefits if you were to pass away.

 

Level Term

Level Term is a type of life insurance where the premiums and life cover stay the same throughout the contract.

 

Life Cover

Life Cover is life insurance that gives a lumpsum pay-out to the beneficiaries in the event that the Insured Person dies.

 

M - R

Management & Expense Charge

Management & Expense Charge is a fee that we charge for managing and maintaining your policy including Accounting and record keeping.

 

Maturity Date

Maturity Date is the date on which your investment product ends and will be paid out to you if the plan has not been used.

 

Medical Examination

Medical Examination is a detailed test by a medical practitioner to determine your physical health.

 

MetLife Discount Card

MetLife Discount Card is a member's card which offers discounts for preventative care at selected providers in specified geographical markets.

 

Misrepresentation

Misrepresentation is a false or misleading statement that, if intentional and material, can allow us to terminate an insurance contract.

 

Monthly Administration Charge

Monthly Administration Charge is the monthly fee that we charge to cover the administrative costs of your plan.

 

Net Cash Value

Net cash value refers to the final monetary value of your plan if you choose to surrender it. It's the final value after we have deducted any outstanding fees, past due premiums or loans against your account.

 

No-Lapse Guarantee

No-lapse guarantee provides you with an agreement from MetLife that we'll keep your life insurance plan in force – even if the cash value in the plan drops to zero, or less than zero, provided that you have met the specified minimum premium's within the mandated time frame.

 

Out-of-Network

Out-of-Network is health care facilities or providers that are not in our network. This means that you will need to pay for the treatment yourself and claim back the cost.

You can do this on the myMetLife app.

 

Out-Patient

Out-Patient is a patient who undergoes treatment but does not stay in hospital overnight.

 

Partial withdrawal

Partial withdrawal allows you to permanently withdraw a portion of your plan's available cash value, whilst keeping some or all coverage in force.

 

Permanent Partial Disability

Permanent Partial Disability benefit refers to guaranteed cash that is payable to you should you experience a partial but permanent disability. This benefit covers accident or sickness or both, based on solution.

 

Permanent Total Disability

Permanent Total Disability benefit refers to guaranteed cash that is payable to you should become permanently disabled. This benefit covers accident or sickness or both, based on solution.

 

Policyholder

Policyholder is the person who is the owner of the plan. If you purchase the insurance plan, you are the policyholder.

 

Policy Anniversary

Policy Anniversary is the yearly date that you took your plan from us.

 

Policy Charges

Policy Charges are additional fees applied on our solutions. You'll find details of these on your plan's Key Fact Document.

 

Policy Date

Policy Date is the date on which the Policy takes effect.. This date will be stated in your Policy Specification Schedule.

 

Policy Month

Policy Month is the full month starting with the policy date and ending the day before the first monthly anniversary.

 

Policy Owner

Policy Owner is the person who purchased our plan and is on the application. It could be you, or someone who took the cover out for you. This person can be changed and updated at a later date.

 

Policy Specification Schedule (PSS)

Policy Specification Schedule (PSS) is a detailed description of your MetLife policy terms and what it covers.

 

Pre-existing Condition

Pre-existing Condition is a condition that was diagnosed, treated or a physician was consulted on. This could have happened before you are covered with us and might not be in your application.

 

Premium

Premium is the regular amount that you pay for your policy.

 

Premium Charge

Premium Charge is a charge applied on premium paid and deducted from policy account value.

 

Premium Load

Premium Load is a percentage of your premium which Is considered as an additional fee and will not be allocated to your policy Account Value.

 

Premium Rate

Premium Rate is the cost of insurance per exposure to cover claims payments, expenses, and commissions to agents and provide for a reasonable profit.

 

Proof of Loss

Proof of Loss is a document that you will need to fill out to make a claim when a loss event occurs.

 

Return of Premium

Return of premium is when we give all or part of the premiums you’ve paid back to you if you haven’t made any claims by the time your policy comes to an end. This feature is available on some of our solutions.

 

Rider

Rider is an insurance supplement that you can choose to purchase as an additional add-on benefit or cover to your current insurance plan.

 

Reinstatement

Reinstatement is when a plan that has come to an end due to non-payment of premium and can be reopened. A medical examination may be required to do this.

 

S - Z

Second Medical Opinion

Second Medical Opinion is a service available to provide you with second medical opinions from renowned specialists and hospitals worldwide, should you be diagnosed with an illness and require further information, opinion or advice on options for treatment.

 

Short Term Incapacity Benefit

Short Term Incapacity benefit covers the cost of your basic monthly premium (to keep your insurance plan valid) for a period of time should you be unable to work due to an accident or sickness.

 

Surrender

Surrender is when a policyholder cancels their policy before it has ended, in exchange for the what the policy is worth at that time, minus any charges.

 

Single-Premium

Single-Premium is when you pay one lump sum, rather than regularly in installments.

 

Surrender Charge

Surrender Charge is a fee levied on a life insurance policyholder upon cancellation of their life insurance policy.

 

Terminal Illness Benefit

Terminal Illness Benefit assures you that should you be diagnosed with a terminal illness, the basic death benefit cover in your plan will be accelerated to provide you with financial support.

 

Term Life

Term Life insurance provides a lump sum payment if you were to pass away during the specified time.

 

Transfer

Transfer is when you move investments between accounts to a benefit from market fluctuations or to protect your Investments.

 

Underwriting

Underwriting is the process that we take to decide your risk and determine how much insurance you should have, how much you should pay for it and whether or not we can offer an insurance plan to you.

 

Variable Life Insurance / Variable Universal Life Insurance

Variable Life Insurance is a type of life insurance that allows you to invest your savings in a variety of investment funds such as stocks, bonds and equity funds. You will receive the cash value when the solution ends, or if you decide to terminate it. If you were to pass away before the end of the policy, your beneficiaries will receive the cash payout.

 

Waiting Period

Waiting period refers to the gap of time between purchasing your cover and when it becomes effective. 

 

Waiver of Premium

Waiver of premium confirms that we (MetLife) will not require you to pay a fee to maintain your plan under certain conditions. Most commonly, these conditions are the death or disability of policyholder.

 

Whole of Life Insurance

Whole of Life Insurance is a life insurance plan that guarantees that it will remain in force for your entire lifetime (provided all required premiums are paid up until the maturity date).